Mansfield Park First Edition

Look at what I had my hands on today!

It’s a three volume first edition of my favorite novel, Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. Anne Repass from the Seattle Public Library brought the books, part of her personal collection, to the meeting of our local chapter of the Jane Austen Society and led the discussion. I was super excited for the discussion so seeing, actually HOLDING the books was just icing on the cake. I have seen Jane Austen first editions under glass before, but never got to touch, to hold, the books, and for a book lover that is the best.

These books were from 1814, in lovely condition and beautifully bound. At the time these books were printed, most novels were produced in three volumes. The books would have been purchased unfinished almost like a paperback, and then you would take them to be bound to match your library, taste and budget. These books are quarto size, which, though hard bound, is smaller than a little modern paperback. I wish I would have set something on the table so you could see the size of these darling little books.

-Lynnae

My England Trip- London

I am in England. It is my second day and this is really a dream come true for me. I am staying with my sister Julianna and her kind husband, who have a sweet little cottage style home in Reading. There are so many little nooks and Crannies! My daughter and I are sleeping in a little upstairs room that is so sweet it’s like being in a treehouse. I have an angled window right above my bed. Julianna also had some gifts for us when we arrived.

This is a one hundred year old copy of Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, my favorite novel, that she gave me as a birthday present. Isn’t it beautiful!

Today we went out to London, But we started the day with Breakfast at a charming and very yummy restaurant in Reading called Bill’s.. My daughter was excited to see the tower of London, so that was our main destination.

London Bridge.

We also went out to see Big Ben. OK, OK, I’ll post this picture, even though I’m not too happy about what is going on with my hair by this point! Jordan looks fabulous as always!

My sister Julianna and I with the London Eye in the background.

As you can see I’m having a great time and feeling totally spoiled here in the UK. I wish I could write about everything. But right now I’m feeling about as tired as this little girl…..

More to come….

-Lynnae

How Much of a Janeite Am I?

I am here to report my official score from the esteemed and reputable facebook application quiz “How Much of a Janeite Are You?'”.

I had 21 correct out of 23. My final score, which seems to factor in the time needed, was 2612.  I don’t know how many have taken the quiz so far, But I ranked in the global top ten at the time of completion. Now to hunt down the other nine……..

-Lynnae

Three Things Very Dull Indeed?

Last Saturday I ran 5k at the Fall City Days celebration. I got my second best time, at 35:14. I know for runners it’s not super fast, but for me it’s great. I want to work up to a 10k this summer, so I was looking at local races and found the website for Railroad Days in Snoqualmie. This is a fun celebration anyway, but look at the cute race shirt logo!

I may be shallow, but if I’m gonna run it’s all about the shirt. It’s like when I used to get ribbons on the swim team. I usually come home from a race , shower, and put on my new race shirt and sweats for lounging around or napping with a sense of superiority accomplishment.

In more local news, my little town of North Bend is 100 years old and having a fun block party on Main Street this weekend. And then later this summer is The Festival at Mount Si. We have a parade, booths, and music and food. But this year they are adding something new. It’s something I have wanted to blog about but I’ve been afraid…..

They want to add an art element to the festival, since this is a pretty artsy place for a small town, so they want to have a live art exhibit. I have been so excited to try this and scared at the same time, that I didn’t want to mention it on the blog because I know everyone will be encouraging but I don’t want to commit myself because it’s scary. The plan is to have live models posing in costume and then people around sketching and painting. Look at the cool concept drawings!

But do I want to commit to that? Do I have the experience (no) to sit in front of people and paint? What if there’s not enough time for me to do anything, or what if my art is no good and people are around me staring! Eeek. So I’m laying out my doubts and fears before you now.

….And another thing. I am rapidly approaching my 100th post, and my Birthday, July 11th, which, for those of you who haven’t followed for long, I have also given to Fanny Price of Mansfield Park to be her honorary birthday. We know her birthday is sometime in July, plus I love Miss Price, and it fits astrologically, even though I don’t believe in that. So I am trying to prepare something for a birthday/100th post giveaway. Stay tuned.

Three things very dull indeed? You tell me!

Why It's Called "The Little White Attic"

In Jane Austen's novel, Mansfield Park, the heroine, Fanny Price, is given the attic to be her bedroom, by her cruel Aunt, Mrs. Norris. Far from the luxurious chambers of her cousins, her small unwanted room was beyond even the servant's quarters. The room is referred to as "The Little White Attic".
Mansfield Park is a novel brimming with symbolism, particularly when it comes to locations and their inhabitants. The name 'little white attic' is symbolic of the heroine, Fanny price. The attic is small, plain and unwanted, like Fanny herself. However the color white denotes purity, and the location of the attic above the rest of the household represents Fanny's superior moral values in a household full of selfishness and unprincipled motives.
So welcome to The Little White Attic, my tribute to my favorite Austen Heroine, a model of sweetness, perserverance, and above all, the determination to do right, come what may.

Open Air Dancing

I have a few more thoughts to add about the ITT/ Masterpiece adaptation of Mansfield Park. After watching this show again, and already over my initial disappointment, I wanted to add a few things about the outdoor dancing.
Why was Fanny Price’s ‘coming out ball’ replaced with a picnic? It is our of character because I don’t think she would have stood up to Sir Thomas to object to his suggestion. But Fanny’s character is changed in this movie, so I guess she could have had a ball, picnic, or gone skydiving and it wouldn’t matter that much as far as being out of character. My guess is that budgetary restrictions were the guiding factor. The costs of using a real room in a great house, and the work involved in fitting it up and then restoring it back for the owner was probably prohibitive, though as far as I’m concerned they could have saved money by hiring a lesser known actress who may have actually read the novel.
And then why through in the second dance after the wedding? It was out of place and Fanny would never have been the one to introduce the waltz to the local society.
In my opinion Fanny is one of the best creatures ever written up and a credit to Jane Austen that no one can touch her. No one has come close to the sweetness and the sadness and the complexity. I still hope to see the real Fanny on screen someday.